 | This biographical article needs more biographical information on the subject.(October 2017) |
Meneripitiya Appuhamillage Don David Karunaratne was a Ceylonese politician. [1] [2]
Karunaratne was elected to parliament at the 1st parliamentary election, representing the United National Party (UNP), for the Gampaha electorate. [3] He secured 11,786 votes (38% of the total vote), 3,370 votes ahead of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party candidate, C. A. Mathew, who received 27% of the total vote. [4]
The Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is the supreme legislative body of Sri Lanka. It alone possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all other political bodies in the island. It is modeled after the British Parliament.
General elections were held in Ceylon from 23 August to 20 September 1947. It was the first election overseen and administered by the newly-formed Department of Parliamentary Elections.
The United National Party, often abbreviated as UNP, is a political party in Sri Lanka. It currently is the main ruling party in the government of Sri Lanka and is headed by Ranil Wickremesinghe. The UNP is considered to have right-leaning, pro-capitalist, and liberal conservative policies.
Karunaratne had two daughters, Chandra Charlotte and Edith. Chandra married Percy Jayakoda, who was the MP for Divulapitiya. [5] [6]
Divulapitiya electoral district was an electoral district of Sri Lanka between March 1960 and February 1989. The district was named after the town of Divulapitiya in Gampaha District, Western Province. The 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka introduced the proportional representation electoral system for electing members of Parliament. The existing 160 mainly single-member electoral districts were replaced with 22 multi-member electoral districts. Divulapitiya electoral district was replaced by the Gampaha multi-member electoral district at the 1989 general elections.
Karunaratne was a wealthy landowner in the Gampaha District, owning a number of coconut and rubber plantations. In the 1930s he constructed a palatial walauwa, called Agra, in Bendiyamulla. The 1966 film Parasathu Mal, directed by Gamini Fonseka, was filmed on the property. In 1978 the Gampaha District Secretariat purchased the dwelling and 4.9 ha (12 acres) for Rs 15,300,000 and converted it into government offices, to house the secretariat. [7] [8]
Gampaha District is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. It is the second most populous district of Sri Lanka after Colombo District. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka. The capital of the district is the town of Gampaha. Negombo however is the largest city and the commercial hub of Gampaha district. The district was carved out of the northern part of Colombo District in September 1978.
Walauwa is the name given to a feudal/colonial manor house in Sri Lanka of a native headmen. It is also reference to the feudal social systems that existed during the colonial era.
Sembuge Gamini Shelton Fonseka was a Sri Lankan film actor, film director and politician. He is widely regarded as the King of Sri Lankan cinema history and first Crowned King out of three to die.
